HYPOCHLOROUS EFFICACY

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The Aquaox Advantage

HYPOCHLOROUS EFFICACY

Chlorine is one of the most commonly used disinfectants for water disinfection. It
is used to deactivate most microorganisms and it is relatively inexpensive.
Chlorine is commercially available as gaseous chlorine (CL2) and sodium
hypochlorite (NaOCL) is commercially available in liquid or powder. Both chlorine
(CL2) and sodium hypochlorite (NaOCL) have very limited disinfecting properties,
but the formation of chlorine by-products such as hypochlorous acid (HOCL),
hypochlorite ion (OCL-), hydrochloric acid (HCL) and oxygen atom exhibit strong
disinfecting properties.

Hypochlorous Acid
Hypochlorous Acid
When gaseous chlorine (CL2) is added to water (H2O) the following hydrolysis reaction takes
place:
Cl2 + H2O = H+ + Cl- + HOCl.

Sodium Hypochlorite
Sodium hypochlorite is better known as bleach (NaOCL) and it cannot be combined with
acids. When (NaOCL) comes in contact with acids the hypochlorite becomes unstable, causing
poisonous gaseous chlorine (CL2) to escape.
Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCL) is produced by adding gaseous chlorine (CL2) to caustic soda
(NaOH). When this is done, sodium hypochlorite (NaOCL), water (H2O) and salt (NaCl) are
produced according to the following reaction:
Cl2 + 2NaOH + → NaOCL + NaCl + H2O.

Hypochlorite Ion
Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCL) reacts with water (H2O) to form hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and
hypochlorite ions (OCl-):
NaOCl + H2O → HOCl + OCl-.
Hypochlorite ion breaks down to chlorine and oxygen atoms:
OCl- -> Cl- + O
Depending on the pH value, the concentration of hypochlorous acid (HOCL) is related to the
concentration of hypochlorite ions (OCL-):
HOCl + H2O -> H3O+ + OCl-


Disinfection Efficacy is Determined by the pH.
Disinfection will take place ideally when the pH is between 5 and 7, as then an optimal level of
hypochlorous acid (HOCL) is present.

The maximum level of hypochlorous

acid (HOCL) is between 4 to 5.5
pH. Hypochlorous acid (HOCL)
decreases when the pH is below 4
and above 5.5

Free Available Chlorine

Free Available Chlorine (FAC) is chlorine that is present in the form of hypochlorous
Acid (HOCL), hypochlorite ions (OCl-) or as dissolved elemental chlorine. FAC includes
all chlorine species that are not combined with ammonia (or other nitrogenous
compounds) to form chloramines. It is ‘free’ in the sense that it has not yet reacted with
anything, and “available” in the sense that it can and will react if needed.

A pH value of 6 to 7 is the most

effective and the safest pH-range, due
to absence of chlorine gas. Therefore
when Free Available Chlorine (FAC)
is mentioned, it is assumed that
Free Available Chlorine (FAC) solely
consists of hypochlorous acid (HOCL)
and hypochlorite ion (OCL-)

Free Available Chlorine

compounds with regard to pH.
Hypochlorous acid (pink) and
hypochlorite ion (blue).
Superiority of Hypochlorous Acid (HOCL) Compared to Hypochlorite Ion (OCL-)
Hypochlorous acid (HOCL) is 80-100 times more effective and kills microorganisms
faster than hypochlorite ions (OCl-).

Hypochlorous acid (HOCl) which is electrically neutral and hypochlorite ions (OCl-)
which is electrically negative will form Free Available Chlorine (FAC). This results in
disinfection, but both substances have very distinct behaviors.

The cell wall of a pathogenic microorganisms is negatively charged by nature. The

negative charge of the hypochlorite ion (OCL –) will be repulsed by the negative charge
of the pathogenic microorganism cell wall making it a weak disinfectant. The neutral
hypochlorous acid (HOCL) molecule can penetrate the cell wall of the pathogenic
microorganism very easily, thus making it a very effective disinfectant.
Hypochlorous acid (HOCL) can also penetrate slime layers, cell walls and protective
layers of microorganisms and effectively kills pathogens as a result. The microorganisms
will either die or suffer from reproductive failures.

The pH neutral hypochlorous acid (HOCL)

can penetrate cell walls of pathogenic
microorganisms whereas the negatively charged
hypochlorite ion (OCL-) cannot penetrate cell
walls.

Besides the neutrality of hypochlorous acid (HOCL), it is also a much more reactive and
stronger disinfectant than hypochlorite ion (OCL-), as hypochlorous acid (HOCL) is split
into hydrochloric acid (HCl) oxygen atom which in itself is a powerful disinfectant.

Hypochlorous Acid (HOCL) Guarantees Optimal Disinfecting

The disinfecting properties of chlorine (CL2) in water (H2O) are based on the formation
and oxidizing power of oxygen and hypochlorous acid (HOCL). These conditions occur
when the pH is between 6 and 7.

Hypochlorous acid (HOCL) produced onsite from the AQUAOX™ EAS-330-V1.1 and
EAS-330-V3.2 systems has a pH of 6.5. At this pH, more than 90% of the Free Available
Chlorine (FAC) is hypochlorous acid (HOCL), less than 10% hypochlorite ion (OCL-) and
no chlorine (CL2) are formed.
COMPARISON TO BLEACH

AQUAOX™ Disinfectant 275 < compared to > Commercially available bleach

The strength of Free Available Chlorine (FAC) in “Disinfectant 275” is pre-set to 275 ppm
FAC. In order to make a solution with 275 ppm FAC from commercially available bleach
(NaOCL), it must be diluted in water (H2O). But, the problem with diluting bleach in
water is twofold.
The volume to dilute bleach is very small. The fact that water has naturally different
pH levels can cause the addition of the same volume of bleach to have a different pH
which in turn will affect the concentration properties of the hypochlorous acid (HOCL).
So, although bleach can be diluted to a 275 ppm FAC level, the pH of the mixture and
consequently the amount of active compounds of hypochlorous acid (HOCL) and
hypochlorite ion (OCL-) may vary considerably.
Therefore, disinfecting properties using bleach vary whereas the disinfecting properties
of hypochlorous acid (HOCL) are kept stable. As a result hypochlorous acid (HOCL)
may exceed the disinfecting properties of bleach by 300 times.

Hypochlorous acid (HOCL) does not evaporate and does not cause severe corrosion
like chlorine. Chlorine exposed in air can be very explosive and evaporation should be
avoided. For this reason, the ideal pH is between 6 and 7, as no chlorine is present.

Safety
When producing hypochlorous acid (HOCL) by acidifying sodium hypochlorite
(NaOCL), relatively high prices and the possibility of adverse reactions limit the use of
weak organic acids; use of cheaper inorganic acids provokes gaseous chlorine discharge
and a raise of toxicity level. Because of this, the method above is only used for water
treatment, where residual chlorine concentration values do not exceed 0.5-5mg/l.

Dilution of gaseous chlorine in water (H2O) to produce hypochlorous acid (HOCL)

demands special safety measures and is only used for disinfecting large volumes of
water where active chlorine concentration is below 10-15mg/l. Companies that once
manufactured gaseous chlorine have stopped production and moved exclusively to
manufacturing sodium hypochlorite (NaOCL) because of safety considerations.

Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCL) solutions tend to have a high pH, but the AQUAOX™
Systems is a unique method of non-reagent synthesis of hypochlorous acid (HOCL) at a
pH range of 6 to 7.
 TM

The Aquaox Advantage

Contact
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Fontana, CA 92336, USA.

www.aquaox.net
+1 (909)-829-1664